affection

noun

af·fec·tion | \ə-ˈfek-shən

Definition of affection

1 : a feeling of liking and caring for someone or something : tender attachment : fondness She had a deep affection for her parents.

2 : a moderate feeling or emotion

3a(1) : a bodily condition

(2) : disease, malady a pulmonary affection

b : attribute shape and weight are affections of bodies

4 obsolete : partiality, prejudice

5 : the feeling aspect (as in pleasure) of consciousness

6a : propensity, disposition

b archaic : affectation sense 1

7 : the action of affecting : the state of being affected

8 : umlaut sense 2 —used especially in the grammar of the Celtic languages

Other Words from affection Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym Affectation and Affection More Example Sentences Learn More about affection

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Choose the Right Synonym for affection

feeling, emotion, affection, sentiment, passion mean a subjective response to a person, thing, or situation. feeling denotes any partly mental, partly physical response marked by pleasure, pain, attraction, or repulsion; it may suggest the mere existence of a response but imply nothing about the nature or intensity of it. the feelings that once moved me are gone emotion carries a strong implication of excitement or agitation but, like feeling, encompasses both positive and negative responses. the drama portrays the emotions of adolescence affection applies to feelings that are also inclinations or likings. a memoir of childhood filled with affection for her family sentiment often implies an emotion inspired by an idea. her feminist sentiments are well known passion suggests a very powerful or controlling emotion. revenge became his ruling passion

Affectation and Affection

Affectation looks a lot like a much more common word, affection. But the two are used very differently.

The more familiar word, affection, in modern use means "a feeling of liking and caring for someone or something," as in "They show their dog a lot of affection."

Affectation, on the other hand, refers to a form of behavior that's unnatural to the person engaging in it, and that is meant to impress other people. A phony accent someone uses to sound more sophisticated, for example, can be considered an affectation, as can pretending to know all about some obscure band in order to seem cool.

The words don't have much in common in their use, but their similarity in appearance is not coincidence. Both have to do with one of the trickiest words in the language: affect.

Affect is one of the most frequently looked-up words in the dictionary, primarily because of its regular confusion with effect. The short rationale that you often hear when it comes to distinguishing the two is that effect is usually a noun and affect is a verb. The breakdown isn't all that simple, however, and what makes things even more confusing is that there are two verb entries for affect.

One affect entry is for the sense meaning "to produce an effect upon (someone)" or "to act upon (a person, a person's mind or feelings, etc.) so as to effect a response." This is the sense that connects to affection, as in "We were affected by the young woman's heartfelt speech." Being affected by something in this way doesn't necessarily result in affection, but it can.

The other verb affect is defined as "to make a display of liking or using : cultivate" or "to put a pretense on : feign." It is used when talking about things like styles or mannerisms, as in "He affected a British accent and tweedy look after reading nothing but Sherlock Holmes stories for months on end."

The two verbs affect took different etymological paths from the same origin. The "put on a pretense" sense of affect derives via Middle English and Anglo-French from the Latin affectāre, meaning "to try to accomplish, strive after, pretend to have." Affectāre is a derivative of afficere, which means "to produce an effect on, exert an influence on"; the affect related to affection is from a variant of afficere.

Examples of affection in a Sentence

She has deep affection for her parents. He shows great affection for his grandchildren. feelings of love and affection He now looks back on those years with great affection. She developed a deep affection for that country and its people.

Recent Examples on the Web

Our family will miss his heart of gold, devilishly handsome smirk, humorous antics, and genuine show of affection at the close of every conversation. — courant.com, "Bailey Scott Stanhope," 8 July 2018 His rowdier friend Yûsuke (Mamoru Miyano) similarly desires the girl’s affections, setting in motion a chain of misunderstanding and jealousy. — Justin Chang, latimes.com, "Time-travel romance, but no magic, in the Japanese anime 'Fireworks'," 2 July 2018 The bullfighter Escamillo, Don Jose's rival for Carmen's affections, becomes heavyweight prizefighter Husky Miller, who lures Carmen from South Carolina to Chicago but doesn't count on Joe being dragged along. — David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Carmen Jones': Theater Review," 28 June 2018 Usually, this kind of deeply personal admission would garner sympathy, and affection, from both the Bachelorette and the audience. — refinery29.com, "Jordan Is The Bachelorette’s Surprise Tragic Figure," 26 June 2018 Harry and Meghan’s open affection is indeed a departure from usual royal behavior. — Erin Hill, PEOPLE.com, "This Is Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Won't Hold Hands in Front of Queen Elizabeth," 3 July 2018 Every familiar face was greeted warmly, with as much affection reserved for the mother of the bride, Doria Ragland, as the future king, and father of the groom, Prince Charles. — Aimee Lewis, CNN, "A day in Windsor when everything changed," 19 May 2018 Writer Heidi Thomas and director Vanessa Caswill tell the timeless story with skill, affection and fresh directness. — Hal Boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'Little Women': PBS honors a classic," 10 May 2018 But, for so many famous couples, the sincerest form of affection has meant doing just that—adopting each other’s style, from a pair of matching motorcycle jackets to a spiky platinum crop. — Mackenzie Wagoner, Vogue, "15 Couples Who Cemented Their Soulmate Status With Twinning Haircuts," 4 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'affection.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for affection

Middle English affeccioun "capacity for feeling, emotion, desire, love," borrowed from Anglo-French, "desire, love, inclination, partiality," borrowed from Latin affectiōn-, affectiō "frame of mind, feeling, feeling of attachment," from affec- (variant stem of afficere "to produce an effect on, exert an influence on") + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at affect entry 3

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